A fun slice of escapism, neatly packaged for international consumption, Large Winch falls just a sliver short of creating a new action-adventure franchise, although a sequel is apparently at script stage. Lanky French stand-up comic Tomer Sisley isn't conventionally movie-hero rugged as the titular protagonist but, playing a rebellious Yugoslav orphan adopted as a baby by a billionaire tycoon, he's appealing enough to keep this comic book-inspired romp rolling.

Director Jerome Salle (Anthony Zimmer) tells his complicated tale energetically in a logical blend of French and English dialogue and gives the seemingly-ubiquitous Kristin Scott Thomas a particularly juicy role as well. Local returns should be encouraging on Dec 17 release for this all-action story, which is based on the first four instalments of the 16 hard-back comic books to date about a casually-cool young man who isn't sure he wants the headaches of bottomless wealth thrust upon him.

When self-made billionaire Nerio Winch (Manojlovic) dies unexpectedly in Hong Kong, his empire appears to be up for grabs and his board of directors is frantic. But there's a secret heir in the wings - so secret that even temporary acting director Ann Ferguson (Scott Thomas), Nerio's close collaborator of 20 years, knew nothing of his existence until her boss's sudden death.

But Largo (Sisley), who will be the fifth wealthiest person on earth if and when he successfully takes possession of his late father's 65 percent stake in Winch International, is being held prisoner in a cockroach-infested jail in Brazil on trumped up drugs charges.

As an emergency shareholders' meeting looms, antics set in the present and well-integrated flashbacks introduce a range of characters from loyal to mercenary. Freddy (Melki, with an impressive facial scar) works as Nerio's chauffeur and aide-de-camp. Marcus (Waddington) is in charge of security. Korsky (Roden), a wealthy Georgian arms dealer, is planning a hostile takeover bid on Nerio's holdings. Naomi (Thierry) is Korsky's nubile mistress.

Korsky actually says "I am the story's bad guy"-- but there just may be a worse baddie out there.

Enigmatic control freak Nerio - whose presence is so strong he even speaks to Largo once from the grave – has set up a challenging labyrinth for Largo and his enemies to navigate, building to multiple twists throughout.

Anthough Largo Winch offers nearly non-stop action across a pleasing range of exotic locations, it's an almost restful, emotionally coherent alternative to the pumped-up likes of Quantum of Solace and Transporter 3. In a National Treasure – but not quite so silly – way, there's no futuristic technology or weaponry on display here, just brains, guts, cars, boats, planes and cell phones, intelligently employed. And that's refreshing.

He’s tall, dark, handsome, has French nationality, and an inheritance of 20 billion dollars. Unfortunately, he’s a fictional character. Largo Winch, the hero from the eponymous comic book-turned-film, is pretty much the perfect guy (minus the fact that he has lots of people always trying to kill him.) He’s sexy and charming, almost invincible (he managed to escape gunshot wounds, his car flipping over numerous times, and being shot at by men from a helicopter) and he can give a great massage (see: the scene in the hotel spa with Mélanie Thierry). More to read here: http://lafleurdeparis.blogspot.com/2008/12/things-i-love-this-weekthings-i-do-not.html

In a surefire sign of current economic woes, the titular hero of transnational thriller "Largo Winch" seems less concerned with fighting for justice than with preserving his own multibillion-dollar inheritance.

Adapted by Gallic writer-director Jerome Salle ("Anthony Zimmer") from the popular Belgian comicbook series, Euro-financed production throws large chunks of change at a corporate espionage saga spanning several continents, yet most of the money seems to have landed in locations, with too little allocated to the script and stunt departments. Pic should yield steady dividends from Francophone fanboys, but its overseas IPO may prove less profitable.

Based primarily on the first two volumes of illustrator Philippe Francq's and writer Jean Van Hamme's 16-part series -- itself based on Van Hamme's serial novels from the '70s -- the film depicts the unlikely origins of orphan Largo Winch (Tomer Sisley), sole heir of billionaire mogul Nerio Winch (Miki Manojlovic), whose mysterious Winch Intl. Group is one of the world's most powerful conglomerates.

Scenario, co-written with scribe Julien Rappeneau ("Paris 36," "36 Quai des Orfevres"), departs occasionally from the source material, mostly updating various details to reflect contemporary realities. The company's headquarters, originally in New York, have been transplanted to a highly photogenic Hong Kong, while a Turkish prison a la "Midnight Express" has now become a Brazilian one a la "Elite Squad." And Winch's vast fortune has also been boosted, from $10 billion to $20 billion (although in today's market, such an amount may no longer be worth dying for).

Less action-heavy than other comicbook adaptations, the narrative flashes back and forth between episodes of the young Largo's (played by Benjamin Siksou) troubled childhood, when he was plucked from a Croatian orphanage by rising business star Nerio, and present-day sequences in which, following Nerio's murder, Largo battles to protect his fortune from a corrupt board of directors, headed by the nefarious Ann Ferguson (Kristin Scott Thomas, menacing despite an overdone "helmet" haircut).

Indeed, most of the fighting seems to take place in the boardroom: Never has a teen-targeted pic relied so heavily on terms like "minority shareholding," "hostile takeover" or "Liechtenstein Anstalt" to fuel its momentum. A major scene between Largo and his lover/nemesis Lea (Melanie Thierry) has the latter forcing the billionaire to sign a debt assumption agreement, whose dramatic significance may be lost on audience members without an MBA.

Other setpieces pack a mightier punch, including an island-based pursuit where helmer Salle and d.p. Denis Rouden ("MR 73," "Anthony Zimmer") stage the action in impressive widescreen and helicopter panoramas to showcase the eye-catching location (the island of Malta). Brazil and Hong Kong locations are less captivating, and many H.K. street sequences feel rushed and poorly mastered.

Pic does benefit from a certain offbeat, relaxed humor, which German-born Sisley, whose background is in standup and TV sketch comedy, delivers comfortably in both English and French. The financial mumbo-jumbo is handled with less proficiency by the film's cast of unlikely managers, including a not very scary security chief-turned-traitor (Steven Waddington) and a sinister VP (British-born Asian actor Benedict Wong) who sounds like he's been dubbed by a plumber from Newark.
Alexandre Desplat's score smooths out the transitions between locations and time periods, and the flashback-sequence melodies blend well with all the sepia-toned landscapes.

Violence, beyond a few gory closeups, is underwhelming compared to recent Hollywood superhero fare. But a PG-13 rating Stateside would have to stand the test of a lengthy sex sequence in which a closeup of the actress' buttocks actually becomes a clue to one of the narrative's many puzzles. Call it the French touch.

Tomer Sisley: a baby and a cardboard movie ... 2008 is the year of successes!

by Adam Ikx

Thus, on October 3, the one you can now call Largo Winch, became father for the first time since his wife Julie gave birth to a baby girl named Liv Shaya.

And on December 17, all on French screens landed the much anticipated Largo Winch (see trailer). Surrounded for the opportunity to Kristin Scott Thomas (4 weddings and 1 funeral, The English Patient), Melanie Thierry (Babylon AD), Gilbert Melki (The truth if I lie), Anne Consigny (Mesrine) and Benjamin Siksou (New Star) , Tomer totally explodes in the role of the young heir, billionaire and rebellious.

As a reminder, this feature adapted from the cult comic Jean Van Hamme and Philippe Francq, produced by Philippe Godeau and Nathalie Gastaldo, and directed by Jerome Salle, we tells the following story: The billionaire businessman is Nerio Winch found drowned. It is a suspicious death necessarily know when he is the founder and principal shareholder of one of the largest industrial groups in the world, the famous Group W. Who will inherit billions of dollars and the power of this empire? Officially, the billionaire had no descendants, but Nerio kept a secret: a son, Largo, adopted three decades earlier in a Bosnian orphanage. Today, the young brand and heir, who loves the action and women languishing in a prison in the depths of the Amazon, wrongly accused of drug trafficking. Nerio murdered. Largo imprisoned. And if these two cases were not part of a single conspiracy to get his hands on the immense empire W?

After a week of operation, Largo Winch had already garnered 556 147 entries, ranking second in the weekly box office, just behind the ind¨¦trônable Madagascar 2. A success in its second week, since after 15 days of operation, the adventures of LW totals over one million spectators.

In Le Parisien, Tomer confides: "It is a real reward after a hard work for over a year. I was very happy to interpret this role, but it was not won in advance, because we wore for the first time this character on the big screen. "

For its part, the producer Philippe Godeau said: "Our ambition was to find what was the charm and success of the great films of adventure and quality that turned Belmondo Philippe de Broca and Henri Verneuil. There was a totally niche forgotten by the French cinema. And then we wanted to do 'Largo Winch' a real go home for the holidays. That is why we have not hesitated to put a lot of money in this epic starring as Americans know it. And frankly it shows on screen. "Largo Winch has an international dimension. And he adds: Besides' LW2 ', the following scenario, is practically writing. It will run in August 2009 in Switzerland and Thailand. Of course, with Jerome Salle and Tomer Sisley. It does not change a winning team!

And on its lead actor, producer continues: "Since the beginning of the project, Tomer Sisley alone that we have chosen to play the role. Admittedly, Tomer does not physically resemble the heroes of the comics, but it is different, beautiful, charismatic. For his first major film role, it is extremely convincing. "

For his part, Philippe Francq, the designer of the BD, very pleased with the outcome film, said to choose Tomer: "At first I was a little skeptical, but when I saw the movie, it didn has not at all embarrassed that he is not looking. He has the stature of Largo, his nonchalance, his eyes and his smile a little quizzical. We embark on fiction. "

Largo Winch, a success that you can always see in cinemas, it is still projected in no fewer than 490 screens across France! Then run it!

PARIS -- Call it another kind of French paradox: The French love their graphic novels, but the films based on them usually don't leave much impression.
In Hollywood, on the other hand, both superhero-themed tentpoles and films based on more complex graphic novels like "300" and "Wanted" are among the most successful pics at the box office.

Now, a new crop of Gallic projects hopes to break the country's middling record for comics-based movies.

Gallic filmmakers have been plowing into comicbook adaptations since 2004, hoping to lure young audiences back into theaters.

But apart from family-friendly "Asterix," starring Gerard Depardieu, and its two sequels, French pics based on comicbooks have failed to make a wide impact at the European B.O., in spite of large budgets by Gallic standards.

Budgeted at more than $50 million, "Renegade," starring Vincent Cassel grossed just $3.9 million, while the $30 million "Immortal" (Ad Vidam), helmed by Enki Bilal, grossed only $4.3 million. Even previous films adapted from wildly popular comicbooks such as Lucky Luke and Iznogood didn't translate to theatrical success.

French industryites agree that previous comicbook-based pics missed their target audiences not merely because marketing was often ineffective but because they weren't mainstream enough to compete with their American counterparts.

"These projects seemed more like big-budget arthouse fare aimed at niche audiences and fans, " says Franck Ribiere, co-founder and CEO of production and distribution shingle La Fabrique du Film, along with Verane Frediani. "The most enduring challenges are to keep the elements that make the comicbook successful while updating the plot and transposing the universe."

Former topper at Glenat, Laurent Muller, who's launched his own comicbook and Manga publishing house, 12 Bis adds, "Even if they're based on popular franchises, these films are sometimes too ambitious for French producers, partly because they can't raise the financing."

Distribbed by Wild Bunch and helmed by Jerome Salle, the $33 million budget pic has earned critical support in Gaul.

"Our goal was to make 'Largo Winch' an international blockbuster," says producer Gastaldo. The pic stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Tomer Sisley and was shot partly in English and on location in Hong Kong. "We really poured a lot of money into it to avoid the look of cheap French TV films," Gastaldo says.

Based on the Belgian graphic novel by artists Jean Van Hamme and Philippe Francq, "Largo Winch" follows a free-spirited man who struggles to maintain ownership of his billionaire father's empire. Scott-Thomas is a cunning businesswoman who hides her greed behind a veil of maternal affection toward Winch.

Gallic shingle Overlook Films, recently launched by Ribiere and Frediani, is developing "La Marque Jaune," based on the comic "Blake and Mortimer" by Belgian artist Edgar P. Jacobs, to be helmed by Alex de la Iglesia. "Our film should travel well, since it's very British," says Ribiere, who adds that the film will be shot in English.

Other projects include "Lucky Luke," produced by UGC and helmed by James Huth ("Brice de Nice"), set for an October release.

French movie mogul Luc Besson and publishing exec Jaques Glenat are also developing a pic based on the Belgian detective comicbook "Les Enchaines," created by Joel Callede et Gihef.

The pic will be Glenat and Besson's first project together. They've recently teamed up and launched the company Europa Glenat to acquire rights from other publishers as well as adapt and sell rights from Glenat's 5,000-title catalogue of Franco-Belgian graphic novels. Besson says he hopes to produce one film a year via EuropaGlenat.

As Glenat sums it up, "France prides itself for having topnotch animation schools, and Belgium has a prolific comicbook industry, so there is no reason we couldn't make successful theatrical adaptations in Europe."

An action adventure starring a French stand-up comic of Russian origin has hit the Russian screens. Largo Winch is based on one of the world’s most popular comic book series.

Tomer Sisley who speaks 4 languages including Russian and Serbo-Croat, said “shooting was a challenge. It gave me great opportunities. Largo Winch is a wonderful character, there’s a lot to do for an actor, like in a Shakespearian play.”

Sisley portrays a Yugoslav orphan Largo, adopted as a baby by the world’s wealthiest man. After the billionaire father suddenly dies, the 26 year-old Largo inherits his corporation, estimated at 20 billion dollars. He becomes the fifth wealthiest person in the world, but money is not the be-all and end-all for the naughty heir. He wants to find out who killed his adoptive father and keep his fortune away from his father’s corrupt business partners.

The shooting of the film lasted 6 months. “I was very involved in it. My onscreen characters were often shaped by my character. We all have different aspects of ourselves. We know what it is to be shy, angry, fearless. When you have to play a character who is, for instance, mean, you just show your mean part. But I don’t want people to know what I’m like in real life. It’s not their business.”

Half Jewish, half Arab, Tomer Sisley was born in 1974 in Berlin and moved to France when he was 9 years old. At 18, he wrote his first one-man show. Sisley took acting lessons from Jack Waltzer who worked with such actors as Sharon Stone, Dustin Hoffman and John Voight. His debut role was in “Highlander”.

Jerome Salle, director of Largo Winch, says “making this movie was like playing with a toy. It was a dream come true.”

The French thriller had a budget of 70 million dollars and is sometimes compared to the James Bond saga. Tomer Sisley says, “it’s a compliment. It will be great if Largo Winch has the longevity of James Bond around the world.”

However, according to Jerome Salle, Largo Winch and James Bond have little in common. “Bond is a spy, a super hero with guns and secret weapons. Largo is a normal guy who has weaknesses and makes mistakes. Besides, there’s something childish in Largo which the macho Bond doesn’t have.”

Although Tomer Sisley says he most enjoyed playing dramatic and love scenes in the movie, he also had to exercise day and night to play in extreme action scenes.

The director recalls that Sisley was so carried away by his character, Largo Winch, that he had an accident two days after the end of shooting. “He went skiing, made a 20-meter jump and fell like a pancake. He broke 10 bones!” Sisley probably thought he was still playing Largo Winch.

.....Jerome Salle's action-adventure story "Largo Winch" took home a Special Forum of Cinema and Literature Prize. The film, which stars Sisley alongside Kristin Scott Thomas, is an adaptation of the popular Belgian comic book series.....

A hugely successful Belgian comic book, Largo Winch now brings its trademark tales of international espionage to the screen. Sisley stars as the unjustly jailed son of a murdered billionaire who now must crawl out of prison to prevent those who attacked his family from stealing a fortune.

“Epic and well directed, Largo Winch is a true good popular French-y entertainment. Why ask for more?”— Gaël Golhen, Première